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Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Beacon Goddess Fish Tour & Giveaway - Writing Romance: Teen vs. Adult

I am excited to welcome the lovely and talented Angela Brown to my blog today. She's promoting her newest novel, Beacon. It's my favorite book from her yet. Check out my review. She's talking romance and holding a mega giveaway! Be sure to follow her tour with Goddess Fish Promotions and increase your chances of winning.

Writing Romance:
Teen vs. Adult

Hey Christine and
thank you so much for letting me drop in for a visit. 

As some of you
may know, I write and publish across the romance spectrum, from teens
to adults. Beacon, my YA urban fantasy dystopian, is written
for a teen audience with a lot of focus on the main character’s
journey of self-discovery. Part of that involves her romantic
feelings for a certain best friend with smoldering silver eyes.

Being a YA novel,
I chose to approach the romance angle the same as I’d done with my
other YA novel, Neverlove. In YA, there’s an opportunity to
jump on the newness of crushes and first loves. Couple that with the
yo-yo crazy hormonal tizzy that is adolescence and writing romance
for teens becomes a deep dive into angst, confusion, and blossoming
love from lenses unclouded (This is regarding an unclouded - or less
than really grimy-dirty - past and present with experiencing
romance).

Within YA, I also
tend to keep things a little sweeter, cleaner, especially when it
comes to sex. Touches are evocative. Kisses are fire, but if I have
my characters embark on a sexual encounter, I’ll keep “the act”
details to a minimum or perhaps go with the “fade to black.” This
is a preference, not a necessity for writing romance for teens. As
much as we adults would like to think young people don’t know - or
shouldn’t know - about some of the grittier things when it
comes to romance, think again. Writing is an art (to some it isn’t
but that’s a debate for another time) and art is certainly an
imitation of life.

My new adult and
adult romance differs slightly for a couple of reasons.

By the time we’ve hit college or step into the first day at that
new job, we’ve experienced a first love, maybe even a second or
third. We’ve crushed on someone who had no intentions or desires
to reciprocate those feelings. Many times, they probably had no clue
of the unrequited love. When we’ve reached adulthood, we’ve
harbored the anger, frustration, and pain of heartbreak. So when I
write my romance titles geared toward a new adult/adult audience,
the main characters tend to experience the ups and downs of the
romance through lenses clouded by past hurts as well as past joys.
Love may not be brand new, but can spring from a beautiful place of
renew-ness.

Sexual
encounters are purposeful and may include more details. As a note,
the titles I publish under my Rayven Godchild pen name are erotic in
nature so yes, the sex is far more detailed than projects under my
Angela Brown name.

So yeah, writing
romance for teens is different for me than when I write for adults.
Having some of the differences helps so that when I approach a
writing project, I know what bounds - or lack thereof - I’m
working with to direct my word choices.

What are your
thoughts on writing romance for teens vs. adults?

Blurb:

Tsunamis
reduced the USA into a shell of itself, called The Fold. Surviving
humans and vampires joined forces to form The Colony, where
registered citizens do as they're told.

They
donate blood quarterly and dream of being chosen as Attendees for the
Jubilee celebrations, that is, everyone except Macie Breen. With high
school graduation near, she’s anxious to ditch the rules in hopes
of starting a new life with Thane, an unregistered and also her best
friend.

Her
hopes fizzle when Macie is selected as an Attendee, forever
registered. Any future with Thane…impossible. Being chosen comes
with another unexpected price.

Truths
about The Colony blaze into ashes and lies when she discovers the
vampires haven't kept their part of the bargain. Worst still, Macie’s
life unravels as her stint in the city of Bliss forces her to face
daunting truths about who, and what, she really is.

Excerpt:

Thane
tapped the door. “Would it help if I said I didn’t see anything?”

“No!”

He
snickered some more. I cringed. Embarrassment coursed through me,
heating every inch of my skin.

“Would
it help if I told you what I did see looked beautiful?”

I
hesitated half a heartbeat. “Don’t lie to me!”

“It’s
not a lie.” He didn’t laugh. His voice, his tone, quiet, honest.

I
stared at the door and wanted to giggle myself. Flutters erupted in
my belly.

Born
and raised in Little Rock, AR, Angela now calls Central Texas home.
She's a lover of Wild Cherry Pepsi and chocolate/chocolate covered
delicious-ness. Steampunk, fantasy and paranormal to contemporary -
mostly young adult - fill her growing library of books. Mother to a
rambunctious darling girl aptly nicknamed Chipmunk, life stays busy.
Her favorite quote keeps her moving: "You may never know what
results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no
result." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

24 comments:

I agree with Angela's thoughts on sex in YA. While it's perfectly valid to put sex in a YA (as well as violence, gore, etc.), I tend to prefer the fade to black sort of writing. Good luck with the book launch!

Great distinctions on YA vs. adult romance. I like that you say you frequently favor the "fade to black" for teens, while you'll get more graphic with adult novels. Although that reminds me of when I was a young adult myself, looking for those more descriptive passages in adult romance novels, and coming up with nothing more than "her heaving bosoms" and "his throbbing manhood"! Maybe it's better to paint the picture with a little more detail, but give it more of that young adult attention to kissing and caressing that can often be overlooked in adulthood, in favor of getting straight to the act itself?

I think you know exactly what you're doing. The thing that annoys me with some YA sex isn't so much the graphic nature, but the unrealistic expectations. You hit the nail on the head kn owing that with a YA, there is hardship, anger, and plenty of hurt feelings to go along with those relationships.

I pretty much agree. I think it's fine (and just realistic) to have sex in YA, but it would feel a bit weird to me to get crazy into details like an adult erotic book. I think if done right, things can get pretty darn hot just with a good kiss scene, or like you say a "fade to black".

Click, Read, Enjoy.

About Me

I'm a writer, blogger, and geek mom. I write paranormal romance and urban fantasy. I love a dark and gritty story. I have four degrees which don't help at all with motherhood, but make me a great Jeopardy player. Member of S.C.I.F.I. and Untethered Realms.